End of the season

A sad day. The motorcycle is put away in the basement for the winter. I had to take the side cases and top case off to fit it through the door. Now, it's naked and in the house; how sad. While it's in, I will try to figure out how to mount a video camera.

Chilly Saturday Ride

It was just warm enough to take a spin. I procrastinated a while because I thought the day would get warmer, but by 3pm, it wasn't going to improve, so off I went. It was just a short ride around the neighborhood, but it got chilly quickly. I went through the ponds and stopped at a local fishing spot for a quick break. Then back home; the sun was going down and the temperature was dropping quickly. Still, it was nice to get out as it might be the last ride of the season.

Saturday in November

It was an unusually nice day; the temp. got up to about 64F. I got the bike out and ran a few miles to get some fuel stabilizer through the system. I only had a couple hours to ride because I wanted to visit with a friend before the evening. So I set out with a short, slow ride around the neighborhood. I found a dirt road, that I haven't travelled, and started down. I ended up at this pond.

New (to me) farkles

I just got back from East Providence, a hundred dollars poorer but more space on the motorcycle. I added two side cases. They are not as big as the top case, but this is what I wanted. Now I have some extra storage; enough to go on a short camping trip.
The ride there was a bit long because much of it was in the city. Then trying to find the place was interesting as I had to cross over a large river with limited crossings. Once I found one, finding the guy's house was a bit easier.
My ride home was mostly north on route 114 into Pawtucket, then into Cumberland to Woonsocket then into Blackstone when I stopped in to visit my friend Mike, who wasn't home. I talked with his wife for a short time then continued on my way home.
Riding out after a storm takes a little more concentration because some of the dead leaves have blown off the trees and litter the road. Combine that with some rainwater and you get a slippery areas here and there. A rider must look a little further under these conditions.
I haven't ridden much this month due to colder weather. Today, I waited until 2pm before the temp got over 55^oF. Then I rode out to Pascoag on my way to east Providence. It was chilly and when I started out, my sleeves on my jacket weren't zipped. After stopping for fuel, I made sure I zipped them up. After my first stop, I had to put on my chaps, scarf, and heavy gloves. Then, the rest of my ride was comfortable.

The ride from Rome

Had a nice ride home. The roads, backroads, major roads, secondary streets, highways, were all great riding in Maine. The drivers were courteous and aware of motorcycle riders. Compared to what I am accustom to in Massachusetts. When I saw the sign, welcome to Massachusetts, I soon saw a change in the road conditions and the drivers attitudes. Traffic got nasty and I got off the highway. The back roads were a bit slower but I didn't care to deal with Massachusetts highway traffic.

Around the Lakes

Took an afternoon ride around the Belgrade lakes area. The lakes were a little choppy because the wind kicked up now and then. I went around Great Pond and stopped at the Lazy Lab Cafe in the center of Belgrade. Had a coffee and a little conversation with the owners. They were grateful the tourist season was over. I found the ATV trail out on Rt. 27 near New Sharon. It was very rough, so I didn't travel it far. The bike now has over 20,000 miles on it! I only got it last May with under 7000 miles.

Maine back roads

Got into some really rough stuff. Road around the Sandy River area on Mercer and found a trail the a 4 wheel drive truck would've had trouble. But the F650 found the right path and just rode through. This bike is made for Maine! It does the pavement well and it seems to enjoy the rough roads.

A Saturday Ride to Philips

Met up with my friend, John (riding a Ducati 996) and we took a ride out to Farmington the out to Philips. That was a nice ride out Route 4, which had a little construction, but wasn't too bad. One road we took, Mercer St., was fine going until we hit a long spot where the re-paving will be happening. My bike handled admirably, but I think John was a little uncomfortable on the Ducati. That bike is made to go fast! He barely got it out of 3rd gear and we approached speeds of 60mph.

First summer ride

The weather in this area hasn't been at all like summer. Rain and cold was not normal and I have not been on the nice weekend rides that I enjoy. So, after many wet weekend, I was happy for a nice one. This morning was cool for the middle of July, but the riding was nice. Traffic was minimal and I thought I might ride to the beach. As I rode route 102 south, I changed my mind and rode west on route 101 into Connecticut. It was a nice ride with a few twisties and low traffic. After a bit of riding, I made my way onto route 169 and went to the Vanilla Bean for breakfast. While there, I had the chance to talk to Tim, riding a 1200GS, before his breakfast came. I parked my bike next to a newer 650GS. It had a whole different look to it. We chatted about the F650GS and how Tim would rent one while he vacationed without his bike. We also talked about his bike and how much fun he has had on it. After a nice breakfast, I headed towards home. I continued north on 169 then made several turns and found my way on route 12. The traffic started getting heavier as I made my way on the final roads home. All in all, a nice morning ride.

Independence Day 2009

This year, I spent some time with my friend, who was RV'ing it this summer, at a campground. There are two kinds of campgrounds; the quiet ones and the other. This was not a quiet one. There were many campers providing a non-stop display of fireworks until about 10:30pm. Then the DJ on the pavilion kept doing his thing so the kids can dance around. Then, around 11pm I rode home. There was no one on the road; they were all still partying. It was a nice ride in the backwoods roads on a nice quiet night. Sometimes, it pays to dance to a different drummer!

A ride to New Hampshire

This morning, the chosen Sunday ride leads to New Hampshire. It was a nice morning so there was an early start time. It was a little chilly, so I stopped and put the liner in my coat and changed to the cold weather gloves. With the heated hand grips, the ride became more pleasant. I had a general idea of where to go but not having the GPS hooked up made it somewhat an adventure. I just kept the sun over my shoulder and I was able to make it in a little under two hours. That's about an hour and a half with all my breaks. After arriving, I noticed the low fuel light on so I filled up with gas. After 8800 miles, the F650GS gets 69.56 miles per gallon.
For the most part, the trip was secondary roads, but a small part of the trip up was on Rt. 495 and 3. The highways didn't have much traffic for that time of the morning so I just kept up with the few cars on the road. Unfortunately, I didn't see the section of sod, that some truck dropped, until it was too late. Fortunately, route 3 was slow and I managed to maneuver so my tires hit it, I was able to maintain control. The car in front of me softened it up a bit, I imagine. I also traveled along parts of routes 2, 2A, 3A, 4, 27, 62, 117, and 225. The start of the trip was quite hazardous. Through a couple of small towns, much of the roadway was covered with, what appeared to be, freshly shredded vegetation. I guessed this was due to some hail as a storm hit the area the previous night. While I got caught in the rain, and I thought I got a very brief period of hail, perhaps not too far away, heavier, more damaging hail occurred. In any case, the debris made riding tricky, until I got out of the area. The rest of the roads were clear and just a few puddles remained.
There were many detours on the return trip due to Memorial Day parades. At that time, the sun was almost directly overhead so dead reckoning wasn't easy. Once I found myself on some back road, off of the main routes, I would just guess and hope for the best. These trips are nice because one may find themselves in areas off the beaten path. These areas are my goals on these rides. Coming across a nice area makes it all the more fun. Before I left, I went through the trouble of printing out a route map with turn by turn directions. Those got forgotten at home, but that might have made the trip more enjoyable.

Addition to the bike

The F650 got a top case. I paid a little too much for it, but it's a big case; it'll hold 2 helmets and some small stuff. I still need side cases, but I will wait 'till a good deal comes along. It is a Givi case that fits onto the Givi rack, mounted on my bike. It fits well, even on the rough roads it stays on tight. I got lucky as the case colors match the bike, silver and black.

First ride of the year

I finally got my bike out of the cellar. Had a nice day and I took advantage of it. I rode out to a few friends houses, then rode out to my dad's house but he wasn't home (probably at the airport), then I had a nice quite ride down roads with little or no traffic, over the back roads, to my house. Overall, I just did a short ride, about 80-90 miles. It was a great day and I had a great ride. It's a nice way to start off the riding season!
The F650GS ran well; it started right up. After starting the first time in five months, it died. I turned the key off, waited about 10 seconds, then started it again. It didn't need starting again until I was ready to leave my friend's house, and it fired right up and took off. I'm very happy with my acquisition of this motorcycle.